{"id":41905,"date":"2015-03-01T13:55:24","date_gmt":"2015-03-01T20:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=41905"},"modified":"2015-03-01T13:55:24","modified_gmt":"2015-03-01T20:55:24","slug":"triune-mind-in-buddhism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2015\/03\/01\/triune-mind-in-buddhism\/","title":{"rendered":"Triune Mind in Buddhism"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0By Prof. Suwanda H J Sugunasiri (writing from Canada)<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

How many minds do you think you have?<\/p>\n

Whaddaya mean? Of course, I have one body, one mind \u2013 if you don\u2019t mind.<\/p>\n

Dead on. Dead wrong! Let\u2019s ask the Buddha. \u00a0He uses \u00a0three terms for mind: Citta, Mano <\/em>and Vi\u00f1\u00f1\u0101<\/em>\u00f5<\/em>a<\/em>.\u00a0 Says he in one place, \u00a0Whatever it may indeed be, oh Bhikkhus, it is called Citta,<\/em>\u00a0 it is called Mano,<\/em> it is called Vi\u00f1\u00f1\u0101<\/em>\u00f5<\/em>a<\/em>\u201d. Yet, elsewhere we find the terms used with distinctly different \u00a0meanings. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We have, e.g.,\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0sam\u0101hite citte\u00a0 <\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2018Citta stilled\u2019,\u00a0 \u00a0manopubba<\/em>\u00fc<\/em>gam\u0101 dhamm\u0101<\/em> \u2018Mind is of the nature of\u00a0 forerunning\u2019 and \u00a0\u00a0cakkhuvi\u00f1\u00f1\u0101<\/em>\u00f5<\/em>a<\/em>\u00a0 \u2018eye-consciousness\u2019.<\/p>\n

Any surprise that this \u00a0has baffled\u00a0 scholars, East and West? \u00a0Translations haven\u2019t been helpful either. English, or any other Western language in particular,\u00a0 has no\u00a0 parallel concepts. So it was that I took \u00a0up the challenge of finding out just what is going on. So there it is. My latest article, Triune Mind in Buddhism: A Textual Exploration\u201d in the Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies <\/em>(2014), pp.7-48.<\/p>\n

My first treading ground was the Abhidhamma in which we find a detailed analysis of the mind, meaning the five physical senses as also in Western Science – eye, ear, nose, tongue and body,\u00a0\u00a0 but going beyond, \u00a0the mind-sense.\u00a0 None of\u00a0 that \u00a0\u00a0ESP (extra-sensory perception) nonsense \u00a0here! \u00a0Each sense is called a door (dv\u0101ra<\/em>).<\/p>\n

The Abhidhamma shows a \u00a0Stream of Consciousness\u00a0 (vi\u00f1\u00f1\u0101<\/em>\u1e47<\/em>asota<\/em>), as it is called by the Buddha, \u00a0\u00a0in any given sense door, as having 17 mindmoments. With different functions.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s then take a quick look at the ear sense, for example.\u00a0 You have a cell phone in your hand, and then suddenly, you feel a vibration (calana<\/em>). <\/em>\u00a0This is what takes place when a sound (stimulus) sneaks up on you through the ear door. So\u00a0 you pick up the cell \u00a0\u00a0and keep it to \u00a0the ear (would you not count two mindmoments, one for each action?). Now,\u00a0 still not knowing who the call is from, you listen. It\u2019s me\u201d, \u00a0you hear the words. This is the receiving<\/em> part, taking up to 6 mindmoments.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re now listening to your friend and chatting away. But you know what?\u00a0 Your mind has already decided whether the call is related\u00a0 to Passion, Hatred or Delusion (r\u0101ga, dosa, moha<\/em>).\u00a0 Now careful there, will ya! This is where your this-life kamma is made, because it entails \u2018intent\u2019 \u00a0\u00a0and choice. \u00a0\u2018Intent I say is kamma\u2019, says the Buddha.\u00a0 Decision made, the psychological message is sent on its way, taking about 9 mindmoments. All of this then is the judging<\/em> part.<\/p>\n

Next it is \u2018registered\u2019. Think of a hotel guest. You come in, look for a room, and then register. Taking 2 more mindmoments, the psychological<\/em> message is now sent to a bank. I\u2019m saying \u2018psychological\u2019 here because it is not just the verbal message you\u2019re getting from your friend. It is also the psychological impact on you.<\/p>\n

The threesome, then, \u00a0I call the \u2018Triune mind\u2019 \u2013 i.e., three-in-one mind.\u00a0 Analyzed functionally<\/em>, I label Mano<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 as R-Mind <\/strong>(Receiving-Mind), Citta<\/em> as J-Mind <\/strong>(Judging-Mind) with \u00a0\u00a0Vi\u00f1\u00f1\u0101<\/em>\u1e47<\/em>a<\/em>\u00a0 getting the badge E-mind<\/strong>, registering being an executive function.<\/p>\n

So you have three minds then. Agree? Good. But the problem is that that\u2019s not the whole story. In our example, each mind had a single task, making each a M-Simplex<\/strong>. \u00a0\u00a0But \u00a0they also \u00a0join \u00a0hands. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0So, interconnected, the \u00a0Triune Mind is now a M-Complex. <\/strong>Sorry, too complex to be outlined here, but all this\u00a0 is what I try to show in the rest of the paper, with evidence from the Canon.<\/p>\n

So\u00a0 each of\u00a0 Citta, Mano <\/em>and\u00a0 Vi\u00f1\u00f1\u0101<\/em>\u1e47<\/em>a<\/em>\u00a0 is a mind on its own,\u00a0\u00a0 but\u00a0 they also overlap. \u00a0Let\u2019s say someone were to ask, What is Buddhism?\u201d,\u00a0\u00a0 could we not say, The Training Principles (aka\u00a0 Precepts) are Buddhism, Meditation is Buddhism, Homage to the Triple Gem\u00a0 is Buddhism\u201d? Yet each of them has \u00a0its own identity. To think of yet another\u00a0 mundane example, let\u2019s say you\u2019re showing the Atlas of the World to your seven-year old, and turning the page, you say, Oh, this is Asia\u201d. What\u2019s Asia?\u201d, asks the child.\u00a0 You answer, China is Asia, Japan is Asia, India is Asia, Sri Lanka is Asia\u201d.\u00a0 While the four \u00a0countries, along with a host of other countries\u00a0 together make up the land area Geographers call Asia,\u00a0 they do not all\u00a0 share with\u00a0 each other all the features\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – climate, political system, economic system,\u00a0 languages,\u00a0\u00a0 poverty, literacy, longevity, happiness, etc.\u00a0 So\u00a0\u00a0 each country has a life of its own, but also shares common features with others.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>These are then some of the insights the paper brings you about the mind. \u00a0\u00a0Our function-related labeling of\u00a0 Mano, Citta<\/em> and Vi\u00a4\u00a4\u00e0\u00f5a<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0 – R-Mind, J-Mind and E-Mind, hopefully overcomes the issue of having no parallels in translation, English, or any other given language.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2018Receiving\u2019, \u2018Judging\u2019 and \u2018Executive\u2019 are general enough in any given language, allowing the native term \u00a0to capture the meaning.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>It is hoped, then, that the paper\u00a0 offers a possible solution to the confusion around the Triune Mind. Clarification comes by asking the question, Is the term\u00a0 used in a specific and\/or localized context, or is it in a generic and non-technical sense where\u00a0 one or more of them could\u00a0 be used interchangeably?\u201d<\/p>\n

In an \u00a0earlier research, you\u2019ll remember that I \u00a0took you \u00a0on a macro tour of the universe, in its Devolution and Evolution cycle,\u00a0 \u00a0as\u00a0 outlined by the Buddha in the Agga\u00f1\u00f1a Sutta. \u00a0(See\u00a0 Dhamma Aboard Evolution: A Canonical Study of Agga\u00f1\u00f1a Sutta in relation to Science<\/em> (2014)<\/p>\n

<http:\/\/www.thedhamma.com\/buddhaslists.pdf<\/a>>.) In this research, I am\u00a0 only happy to take you on a micro tour into the innards of\u00a0\u00a0 the mind.<\/p>\n

Living in a western country, one of my\u00a0 interests in writing on Buddhism is to bring about a conversation between \u00a0\u00a0what I \u00a0\u00a0call \u00a0Buddhian Buddhism and Western Science. By Buddhian Buddhism I mean nothing more than the Buddha\u2019s words, as opposed to the Commentarial, Yanic and \/or cultural interpretations. So in my paper, \u00a0\u00a0I\u2019ve tried to \u00a0use a language that is Western Science friendly, and less threatening. Thus,\u00a0 the \u2018Teaching\u2019 of \u00a0\u2018Conditioned Co-origination\u2019 (pa<\/em>\u1e6d<\/em>iccasamupp\u0101da<\/em>), \u00a0e.g., comes to be shortened to \u00a0\u2018Con-Coor Principle\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0We call it a \u2018Principle\u2019 not just to give it scientific respectability,\u00a0 but because indeed it is a principle that governs life, be it of sentient beings or of nature.\u00a0 It is for the same reasons that I have retained the Pali terms, Citta,<\/em>\u00a0 Mano <\/em>and Vi\u00f1\u00f1\u0101<\/em>\u00f5<\/em>a<\/em>, just as in Western Science, Greek terms abound.<\/p>\n

In the course of the paper, I also introduce a few concepts: Autonomous Spiritual System (ASPS), Cardiac Theory of Consciousness \u00a0(of Ven. Buddhaghosa), Encephalic Theory of Consciousness\u00a0 (of Western Science), Pancorporeal Theory of Consciousness\u00a0 (of the Buddha).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Not to be forgotten are, of course, M-Simplex. And M-Complex, and Triune Mind: E-mind (Executive-Mind) for Vi\u00f1\u00f1\u0101<\/em>\u1e47<\/em>a<\/em>, J-Mind (Judging-Mind) for \u00a0Citta <\/em>and R-Mind (Receiving-Mind) for \u00a0Mano<\/em>;<\/p>\n

The Paper \u00a0is available for free download at<\/p>\n

<http:\/\/jps.library.utoronto.ca\/index.php\/cjbs\/article\/view\/22402>.<\/p>\n

Wishing you the best in health and happiness!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prof. Sugunasiri is a US Fulbright and Canadian Buddhist Scholar, and author of the best-seller, You\u2019re What you sense: The Buddha on Mindbody<\/em>, Buddhist Cultural Centre, Dehiwala, and now online: http:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/1807\/4328<\/a>. \u00a0Poet and critical essayist on Literature, his novel Untouchable Woman’s Odyssey<\/em> (available at Vijita Yapa) has been hailed as an extraordinary first novel\u201d.\u00a0 He has also been a pioneer in Buddhism in Canada (see island.lk, Fifty Years\u2026Part IV (Jan. 18)).<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0By Prof. Suwanda H J Sugunasiri (writing from Canada) How many minds do you think you have? Whaddaya mean? Of course, I have one body, one mind \u2013 if you don\u2019t mind. Dead on. Dead wrong! Let\u2019s ask the Buddha. \u00a0He uses \u00a0three terms for mind: Citta, Mano and Vi\u00f1\u00f1\u0101\u00f5a.\u00a0 Says he in one place, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41905\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}